Henning Larsen’s French International School is a “Vibrant Green Oasis” for Hong Kong

Henning Larsen has completed their new campus for the French International School in Hong Kong, offering a “vibrant green oasis in the dense city.” The 1100-capacity school sits behind a kaleidoscopic façade laid across a grid of 727 multicolored tiles, offering a “vibrant sustainable environment supporting a world-class multicultural education.”

Located in the city’s Tseung Kwan O district, the 19,600-square-meter scheme comprises a series of large open plan spaces called Villas, each with 125 pupils in the same age group. The spaces are arranged around a central Agora, facilitating group activities and collaboration.

The scheme’s multi-colored, ceramic tiled façade offers a “material representation of the environment within.” The vibrant patterns symbolize the forward-thinking, international outlook of the school, which offers five languages to a student body representing 40 nationalities.

The building form and façade respond to the local climate and conditions, with North or South facing classrooms avoiding the low sun from East and West, while deep brise soleils shading prevents direct sunlight from entering the spaces.

The redesigned campus also includes the planting of 42 trees, multi-story hanging gardens, and a 550-square-meter botanical garden. The vegetation improves air quality in the dense urban setting while fostering a hands-on environment for students to gain experience in the value of the natural world.

Outside of school hours, the campus transforms into a quiet, green oasis for a city of scarce natural space. The gymnasium, exhibition areas, canteen, and playground can be opened to the public, allowing the school to operate as a “beacon of French culture.”

We dissolved the traditional classrooms, and we pushed boundaries on how learning spaces can allow teachers and classes to work together in a more collaborative open space […] With its wide array of sustainable measures, ranging from the choice of materials, to the many passive designs to economize energy and ensure great daylight, to the way the school is able to share spaces with the surrounding community, the new campus of FIS offers lessons in sustainable architecture for pupils and local builders.
– Claude Godefroy, Design Director and Partner, Henning Larsen Hong Kong